Toddlers and 2-Year Old Programming
"I'm just a kid, I have a lot of stuff to do yet."
~ Clint Eastwood
Our commitment to quality care continues in our Toddler and 2-year old rooms. Children at this age are eager learners who energetically interact with materials and people. We at the center realize that an environment and curriculum that encourages each child's growing need of independence is a basis for developing and mastering life skills and a positive self esteem. By playing in both large and small groups, these children will learn valuable social skills needed to effectively interact with others. While engaging in fun activities toddlers and 2-year olds will discover their likes and talents and will be exposed to fundamentals such as: colors, shapes, self-help skills, as well as social and language development.
Children under the age of 2 years old will have a notebook system for direct communication with their teacher(s). In this notebook the teacher will log the daily activities, feedings and the rest times of your child. Parents will be asked to list pertinent information that will ensure the individualized schedule of each child is up-to-date, to inculde but not limited to: the last time your child ate, slept and was changed, as well as mood and sleeping patterns of the night before. Parents of 2-year olds will find daily information posted in the Parent Area of the room.
Arts for Kids has an individualized program for the needs of children ages of
6-weeks to 2-years old.
All children will have individual contact and attention through feeding, diapering and learning experience.
Each child will follow their individual routine of feeding and sleeping set by their home environment.
The children will be provided with equipment to fit their educational development and creative expression appopriate to their age level.
Daily communication with parents:
~ A notebook for each child under two years of age will be sent home with parents summarizing child's activities.
Parents will bring back notebook with information for teachers.
Staff will ensure that throughout the day infants will be moved into different activities.
Potty Training Policy
If parents and the center are in agreement that a child is developmentally ready, Arts for Kids will begin to encourage potty training at age 2.
At 2-1/2 years old age, regular potty training is part of our daily program and routine. Children will be encouraged to wear pull-ups or underwear (depending on progress) and have plenty of extra pull-ups or underwear on hand. They will be taken to the bathroom every 2 hours (possibly more often at the beginning). If a child is wearing underwear, they will be put in a pull-up or diaper for naps, unless completely trained. We will use lots of praise for a "job well done" and lots of understanding when "accidents happen" if a child has a rough day.
Sometimes potty training can happen overnight and sometimes it can be a long process - we just need to have a lot of patience.
February 2026 News!
Toddler I
Hi families! My name is Kiera and I’m excited to be the Toddler I new lead teacher. I’ve had the privilege of learning these kids the last 10 days and wow, what amazing kids they all are!
A little about me: I’m a mom of three kiddos myself, and I absolutely love being a mom. I enjoy hiking and writing. I love to try new things whenever I can, and teaching is my passion.
This month we are celebrating all things love and kindness, we will be spending a week on cookies/candy, love/hearts, kindness, and lastly birds! We will continue working on our motor skills, our words, and our ability to work well together!
Ms. Kiera and Ms. Tina
Toddler II
Hello Toddler II families!
We’re excited to share our upcoming classroom themes for this month! The children will be exploring Hearts, Valentine’s Day, the Winter Olympics, and Friendship through fun, hands-on activities, books, art, and music.
Reminder:
Please remember to take your child’s sleeping bag and water bottle home every Friday to be washed, and bring them back on Monday. Thank you for helping us keep everything clean and ready for the week!
As always, thank you for your continued support. We’re looking forward to a fun-filled month with your little ones!
Warmly,
Ms. Kenzie & Ms. Kayla
Toddler III
Hello families!
This past month has been a whirlwind of exciting and bittersweet moments. We’ve seen our friends grow and learn new things, and we’ve also said goodbye as some move to new classrooms. Plus, we’ve welcomed a few new little ones from the Infant class into our cozy room.
February is all about love, learning, and fun! This month, our toddlers will dive into themes of hearts, friendship, and Valentine’s Day through fun crafts, songs, and stories. We’ll practice being kind and sharing with our friends while celebrating the joy of giving. We’re also planning a little Valentine’s party on Friday the 13th. If you’d like to bring snacks, please sign up! We’ll share more details as we get closer.
With the Winter Olympics coming up, we’ll also introduce some simple movement games and activities that encourage teamwork and physical play. February is the perfect time to spread warmth, celebrate friendship, and learn together!
Ms. Erica
2's I
Welcome February!
We are working on putting winter gear on by ourselves and taking off our own shoes. Parents if you could work on these things at home that would be very helpful for everyone. The kiddos are also working on using spoons and drinking out of a regular cup. If you could please do that at home with them they would be able to learn how to use a spoon and a regular cup faster.
Our themes last month were: Winter Animals, Snowmen, Snow/Snowflakes, and Winter Sports.
The kiddos enjoyed building a snowman as well as our snowflake hunt and painting snowflakes.
Parents please make sure that your child has extra clothes in their cubby. They should also have a winter coat, hat, boots, and mittens every day.
Please make sure to check their cubbies for artwork and/or important paperwork. Our themes this month are: Dental, Valentine’s Day, Dinosaurs, and Dr. Seuss. I will also do Dr. Seuss the first week of March as I have a lot of Dr. Seuss stuff and the kiddos enjoy it.
I will be posting a treat sign-up sheet for our Valentine’s Day party if you would like to bring treats that would be greatly appreciated. I will send home a class list so they can exchange Valentine’s with each other. The kiddos really like doing that.
If anyone has any questions or concerns you can message me on the parent app or talk in person.
I am always available to meet your needs and support you any way I can.
I hope everyone has a wonderful month!
Thank you,
Ms. Ashley
2's-II
Hello all and welcome to the month of hearts.
We had a busy month moving our bodies inside since it was pretty chilly out. After the new year had started we talked about arctic animals. We got to express what was our favorite Arctic animal, and a lot of my friends said they like the polar bear. We followed directions while we were making our yummy polar bear treat and we were also very patient. We learned that long teeth on animals are called tusks and that a walrus has two of them. We moved our bodies by playing with the Arctic animal movement cards, and dancing to the animal dance song. The next week our theme was snow. We loved feeling the “fake snow” in the sensory buckets and dumping them into the cups. We took turns and respected our friends when I asked how they would catch a snowman. We used our cognitive skills to match the snowmen, sort the big/small winter pictures, and matched the pictures to its shadow. We took a buggy walk in the mall and got to see the lions and ourselves in the mirror. On the days we stayed inside we kept moving by playing with the parachute, tunnel, and doing an obstacle course in the hallway. The following week we talked all about penguins. We learned the lifecycle of a penguin and that they do not fly but are really good swimmers. We used our creativity to paint with penguins on ice and we used Pom poms with black paint to make paper plate penguins. The last week of January we learned all about our five senses. On Monday we focused on our eyes seeing everything there was to see in the room and looking for shapes around the room. The following days we concentrated on our ears, hands, mouth, and nose. Ms. Julie was so kind to let us use her instruments when we focused on hearing day (it got pretty loud in the room but it was all in fun). I think taste day was the best for us all. We got to have some tasty treats and we made a delicious pizza. This month please keep an eye out for our Valentine Day party sign up sheet. It will be right out Ms. Sara’s door to the left. The first couple of weeks in February we will be talking about dental hygiene and Valentine’s Day. Hope everyone stays warm this month.
Ms. Laura
2's-III
Hello families and welcome to February in 2’s III!
We got the new year off to a great start last month as we learned about Wisconsin animals in winter, snowmen/snow, penguins, and the 5 senses.
We had much fun using our fine motor skills to create with a variety of items such as stickers, sponges, finger-paint, and play-doh. We even drew pictures with shaving cream and made penguins using shapes! We also created pictures with magnetic pattern blocks, pretended to feed penguins using tongs, and practiced our scooping and pouring skills.
We used our social skills as we built with blocks, pulled each other on sleds, built a snowman, and played together in our dramatic play area.
We used our language skills to sing songs, talk about what Wisconsin animals do in winter, answer the question of the day, talk about snowmen, learn about penguins, learn theme related sign language, and discuss each of our 5 senses. We took some buggy walks when it got too cold to go outside and we talked about the shapes we could see around City Center as well as checked out 3 of the Oshkosh lions that are around City Center.
We used our gross motor skills to play listen and move games, had dance parties, did yoga, and chased bubbles.
As we head into this new month, we will be doing many activities that help us learn about the world around us. We will be kicking off the month learning about our health by talking about all things Dental for Dental Week.
Just a heads up we will be having a Valentine’s Day party on the 13th – treats are appreciated but please do not feel obligated. A class list is available if you would like to bring in Valentines.
If you have any questions or concerns about your child, please don’t hesitate to ask. Hope you have a wonderful month!
Ms. Sara B. and 2’s III
